To Protect
by wwubd
Summary: **Spoilers for webcomic and manga** Metal Bat's last battle left him troubled. He knew he wasn't invincible, but having evidence of it changed things. And Zenko's bold attitude was getting worse as she grew older. One day, she could get hurt. He needed to do something now to ensure her safety when he wasn't around. But what could he do?


Author's note: **If you're not up-to-date with the webcomic or manga, and don't want to be spoiled, don't read** This idea popped into my head late at night, but it was a good inspiration bug so I had to write it. Reviews are always welcome. =) Part 1 of 2.

Opening his eyes pained and exhausted him, but he was no wuss. He needed to start moving around, get his muscles working so he could recuperate faster. He also needed to make sure little Zenko was all right—

"Big brother! Wake up!"

Two tiny fists collided with his chest, knocking the wind out of him and popping his eyes open. Well, that was one way to wake up.

"Zenko!," Metal Bat gasped. "Wassa matter with ya? Don't go punchin' me while I'm down!"

Zenko was startled by her brother's rebuke, but she shook out of it quickly before saying in her stern voice, "But big brother! You were taking too long! I was worried you would sleep forever!"

Metal Bat was inspecting himself before glancing up at Zenko and noticing the worry she was trying hard to hide. He looked around the room with narrowed eyes, taking in the white walls, the small armchair by the door, the curtains, hundreds and hundreds of flowers and cards by fans, before finally settling his eyesight on Zenko.

"Whaddaya mean worry? You know your big bro is tough. I'm always fine after an hour or so," he boasted, closing his eyes, in an attempt to wave her worries away.

Zenko stared at him from the armchair she had pushed to his bed, where she stood.

"Big bro, you were asleep for almost a 3 days!"

Hn?!

That statement shook Metal Bat's confidence. _3 days?_

He tried to recall his last battle, as he lied back against the top of his bed, keeping his eyes on the ceiling, messing up the sheets. He remembered having no problem dispatching the venus mantrap and the plant monster with the sleeping gas…The small centipede had been tougher, but the bigger one had been harder.

 _Tch._ I didn't get to finish off the small one before Senior made his appearance.

Then that pain the butt came out of nowhere, itching for a fight. The hero hunter…

 _Garou._

He hated it to admit, but the guy had been tough. It seemed the longer they fought, the better, stronger, faster he became. He had almost finished him off before Zenko found him.

Zenko felt her brother's heavy stare on her. She looked to the ground. She knew what he was thinking and she braced herself.

"Zenko, how many times do I hafta tell ya not to go looking fer me when I'm in battle, or when there are monsters on the loose?" He kept his eyes on her, the tone of his voice serious and firm. "You may end up getting real hurt, then whatcha goin' to do?"

Zenko wouldn't back down. "You—"

"What would I do?" he finished softly.

Frustration was taking over Zenko. Tears welled up her eyes. She curled her little fists and shouted, "If I hadn't been there to stop you, you would've kept on fighting as hurt as you were! You could have died! Dummy!"

Metal Bat sighed. No point in going in circles again. He put his hand on her head. This made Zenko's tears start falling, which she quickly kept wiping away.

Metal Bat knew that it didn't matter how many times he admonished her; the bigger she got, the bolder she became. He suspected Zenko could be stronger than she looked, but she was still his little sister and it was his job to protect her, at least for the time being.

But this event had him troubled. Even with all his strength and endurance, he wasn't invincible. And he couldn't be everywhere. He needed a job to sustain himself and his little sister and Tama, but he wouldn't be able to do his job if he had to choose between it and keeping Zenko safe.

He decided to think about it at a later date. Right now, he had to cheer his little sister up.

Pff! Pff! Pff!

Metal Bat was running towards H-City, responding to a distress call.

He was super pissed. Somehow, he had been the only S-Class hero available to address the dragon monster. And to top it off, his cat Tama was in labor _and_ all the streets were jammed because of the traffic…because of that jackass monster! So he had no choice but to run to H-City. If something happened to Tama, someone was gonna pay—

 _There it is!_

He found the beast. He was out of breath, but still he felt his muscles warming up, his body getting ready to give out a good beating. He needed this.

He lifted his bat and yelled, "I'm gonna to take out all of this anger out on y—"

Suddenly the beast's head exploded.

Metal Bat froze in his position, watching as the monster's body fell on itself, blood and eyeballs making for a gruesome image.

 _What the?_

He had noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye, so he turned his head and saw what had caused the monster to erupt.

Tatsumaki was yelling at someone to die.

She had killed the monster by merely pushing a…person...through its head.

Great. Now he was filled with anger and no outlet.

 _Calm down, calm down…Tama is waiting at home. Go home._

His walked stiffly, full of unreleased energy. While he did his calming breathing technique, a thought came to Metal Bat's head.

It wouldn't leave his head, even after dismissing it at least 5 times for various reasons and while he helped Tama clean her kittens.

While Zenko did her homework, he called the Association and wrote down the information he needed.

Maybe _he_ couldn't be everywhere to protect Zenko. But there was a possibility of someone else being able to, in a way.

He hesitated, but after glancing at his sister he dialed the number.

It rang twice before someone picking up.

He swallowed before speaking. "Yeah, this is Metal Bat calling. Is this—"

"Huh? What do you want?" Tatsumaki spat out.


End file.
